SBV Vitesse

History

Vitesse, founded in 1892, is the second oldest professional football club still in professional football in the Netherlands, after Sparta Rotterdam who were formed in 1888. The roots of Vitesse actually pre-date Sparta by a year as in 1887, a club with the name "Arnhemsche cricket- en voetbalvereeniging Vitesse" was formed by a group of high school students who played their sport on the Rijnkade, overlooking the River Rhine in the city centre. Reluctant to choose a Latin or English name for the club as they felt those languages were too elitist, they picked the French word Vitesse, meaning "speed".

In 1891 the club disbanded as they were no longer able to find anywhere suitable to play cricket after a velodrome was built on their usual playing field in the Klarenbeek Park. The following year a group of wealthy students resurrected the sports club, this time with the name AVC (Arnhemse Voetbal en Cricketclub) Vitesse. In the summer they played cricket and in the winter football. At the end of 1892, Vitesse played its first real football match, and in 1894 Vitesse disbanded the cricket branch. In 1895 and 1896 Vitesse became champions of the Gelderland competition. From the foundation of the Netherlands national football championship in 1898 until 1954, the title was decided by play-offs by a handful of clubs who had previously won their regional league. Vitesse lost the final of the national championship six times (1898, 1899, 1903, 1913, 1914 and 1915).

In 1912 Vitesse reached the final of the Dutch Cup Tournament for the first time. Vitesse lost the final 0–2 against HFC Haarlem. In this period Vitesse had top players, such as Willem Hesselink and Just Göbel, who were also active in the Netherlands national team. In 1914 John William Sutcliffe became the first foreign trainer.

During World War II, Vitesse did not play official matches because playing football in the open air was forbidden. During the Battle of Arnhem, the residents of the city were forcibly evicted from their homes, allowing the Germans to turn the north bank of the Rhine into a heavily defended line. Residents were not allowed to return home without a permit and most did not return until after the war. The football field and clubhouse were completely destroyed. The damage was repaired in the years after the liberation.

In 1984 it was decided to divide the professional and amateur sections of the club. The professional section was renamed SBV (Stichting Betaald Voetbal – "Professional Football Foundation") Vitesse whilst the amateur section became "Vitesse 1892", which lasted until they went bankrupt in 2009.

License issues

In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, owner Valeri Oyf decided to sell the club. A deal was reached between Oyf and Coley Parry, an American investor. After a lengthy investigation, the KNVB eventually rejected the sale, despite Parry having already invested millions into the club. Parry then demanded the money back from Vitesse. Guus Franke, a Dutch businessman, negotiated with Parry regarding the debts and a potential takeover of Vitesse. That deal eventually collapsed. A deal was finally reached in 2025, with a group of 5 investors all taking a minority share and Parry fully withdrawing from the club.

Towards the end of the 2023–24 Eredivisie season, Vitesse was relegated after an eighteen‑point deduction imposed by the KNVB for failing to comply with licensing requirements amid ongoing financial issues related to the club's sale. During the 2024–25 Eerste Divisie season, Vitesse received a further 39‑point deduction, of which 12 were for the 2025-26 season due to appeal rules, which contributed to their bottom‑place finish. In the aftermath, the KNVB initiated proceedings in June 2025 to revoke the club's professional license, citing unresolved financial irregularities related to investor Coley Parry, and on 11 June revoked the license, with Vitesse appealing the decision. Another response came in the form of a proposed takeover led by Dutch regional investors under "Plan Sterkhouders", chaired by Michel Shaay, aimed at restoring the club's financial stability. Vitesse signed a cooperation agreement with CROP accountants on 4 June. On 21 June the regional investors and foreign owners reached an agreement subject to KNVB approval, which—if ratified—would have marked Vitesse's return to Dutch ownership for the first time since 2010. On the same day, Rüdiger Rehm was appointed as the club's new manager. The club submitted a temporary budget proposal for the deadline of 16 June and had until 3 July to supplement it. On 9 July, the club was deducted 12 points for the upcoming season due to a failed appeal. Timo Braasch, interim director and one of the 5 owners of the club, stepped down on 27 July as director in an apparent attempt to appease the KNVB ahead of the appeal ruling. On 31 July 2025 the club officially lost its appeal and was no longer a professional club, with the Royal Dutch Football Association claiming that the "Plan Sterkhouders" agreement came too late. The club went to court to try to get its license back. An emergency hearing took place on 7 August in Utrecht, a day before the new season started, with the decision being made public on 8 August. The club's efforts were supported by supporters and the community of Arnhem, including a special bus transport from Arnhem to the courthouse in Utrecht. On the day of the trial, the court accepted requests from supporters and social organizations to add themselves to the lawsuit.

Stadium and training facilities

The club plays its home games at the GelreDome stadium, with a capacity of 21,248 seats. The GelreDome was built to serve as a multifunctional stadium suited for sports, concerts and other events. It was the first football stadium in the world to have a retractable pitch, and, after the Amsterdam ArenA, the second stadium in Europe to have a sliding roof. The pitch is surrounded on each side by four covered all-seater stands, officially known as the Edward Sturing Stand (North), Charly Bosveld Stand (East), Theo Bos Stand (South) and Just Göbel Stand (West).

The idea of building a multifunctional stadium, which had more than doubled the capacity of Vitesse's old Nieuw Monnikenhuize stadium, came from former Vitesse chairman Karel Aalbers. The ambitious chairman had been playing with the idea from as early as the late 1980s, but it took until 1996 and the prospect of the upcoming Euro 2000 championships for construction to finally begin. The GelreDome opened two years later, on 25 March 1998, with a league match between Vitesse and NAC Breda (4–1). Three international matches of the Netherlands national football team were played in the stadium, the first one being on 27 May 1998: a friendly against Cameroon (0–1). The last one, played on 26 April 2000, was also a friendly: a 0–0 against Scotland. In 2019, the Netherlands women's national team, also played their international (friendly) match at the stadium. Furthermore, the GelreDome was the location for three UEFA Euro 2000 group stage matches, as well as the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament.

Vitesse's training facilities are conducted at National Sports Centre Papendal, located in the outskirts of Arnhem in woodland surroundings. The training ground consists of several pitches, a number of which have an artificial turf pitch, and extensive training facilities, including a fitness centre. Papendal, a mere twelve kilometers north of the GelreDome, is not only the training facility for Vitesse's first team; the youth teams play their home matches here as well. Its main field has seating capacity for 500 people. The complex is situated in large wooded area, where the players can prepare in a peaceful and private environment, whilst not being too far from the hustle and bustle of Arnhem's city centre. Papendal is also the base for administration staff, scouting department and all club coaches.

Symbols

Hertog

Vitesse are well known for the American bald Eagle 'Hertog', which is released before the match and flies over the crowds.

Anthems

Vitesse fans are known to be creative and have various songs and chants during matches. Among the most important Vitesse songs are "Geel en Zwart zijn onze kleuren" by Emile Hartkamp (which was the anthem until 2017), "Ernems Trots" by Joey Hartkamp and Emile Hartkamp (which is the current anthem), and "Bouw mee aan een steengoed Vites!" by Henk Bleker & Enka Harmonie. Vitesse opens its home matches with "Whatever You Want" by Status Quo, and after every home goal "Bro Hymn" by Pennywise is played.

Mr Vitesse

Theo Bos was raised in Arnhem and started playing football from an early age. He began his career at amateur club Sv Sempre Avanti and played from 1979 to 1983 in the academy of Vitesse. Manager Leen Looijen gave him his professional debut on 13 August 1983 against FC Wageningen; the match ended in a 3–0 victory for Vitesse. Bos spent his entire playing career for Vitesse, making a total 369 appearances in 14 seasons with his club. After his playing career, Bos worked at Vitesse as youth coach, assistant coach and manager. He is therefore considered to be Mister Vitesse. In 2012, the south stand of the GelreDome stadium was named the Theo Bos Stand. Bos died on 28 February 2013 of pancreatic cancer, aged forty-seven. Following his death, a special remembrance to honour Theo Bos took place at Gelredome with around 7,000 Vitesse supporters. After the 2012–13 season, no player will wear the number 4 shirt at Vitesse after the club decided to retire the shirt out of respect for Theo Bos, "the legendary number four". Dutch defender Jan-Arie van der Heijden was the last player to wear the number. In November 2013, his biography Het is zoals het is ('It is what it is') was published, written by journalist Marcel van Roosmalen. In 2015, a statue of Bos was erected outside of the training complex at Papendal.

Airborne-match

Around September there is an annual 'Airborne memorial' football match. During this annual Airborne-match the veterans of World War II are honoured. The Gelredome is decorated with Airborne flags, both outside and inside the stadium, and at halftime, 120 members of the Royal British Legion play bagpipes with some other musical guests. Club symbol Hertog flies with the typical Airborne colours. The match is traditionally visited by veterans who fought in this battle, while a special shirt is worn by Vitesse. The club drop their normal striped black and yellow kit for this special match. Instead they wear claret and blue outfits, the same colours of the 1st Airborne Division, with a 1st Airborne 'winged horse' emblem also etched on the kit. Pictured on the collar sticker is the John Frost Bridge. These shirts are after the match auctioned for charity. In addition, Vitesse wears a special captain's armband as a sign of recognition and respect for those who have "fought for our freedom". In the 2014–15 and 2019–20 seasons, Vitesse played their away games in the same colours of the 1st Airborne Division.

Colours and badge

Originally, Vitesse played in white shirts with a blue sash from inception until 1900, paying hommage to the city's colours. At the turn of the century, player Reinhard Jan Christiaan baron van Pallandt offered to sponsor the club's shirts in exchange for Vitesse switching to his family colours of black and yellow. The board were quick to accept, noting that Vitesse, being one of the strongest team in the province of Gelderland, would be vindicated in playing in what could also be considered the province's colours (the flag of Gelderland is a tricolour in blue, yellow, and black).

The first logo of Vitesse was a shield-shaped crest. In the middle there was a diagonal dividing line between the left yellow face and the right black box. In the left box, "Vitesse" was diagonally written and in the right-hand side, "1892 ", the club's founding year. This logo underwent minor redesigns and was replaced in 1984, the year in which the professional branch and the amateur branch separated. The amateur branch retained the logo with limited modification, while SBV Vitesse got a new logo.

The new logo of the professional club from 1984 was once again a shield-shaped figure, but it had straight lines at both the top and sides of the logo. At the top was a black box with thick white uppercase Vitesse. Under the name is a double-headed eagle counterchanged on a black and yellow field. This double-headed eagle can also be found in the coat of arms of Arnhem. In the middle of the logo is a football.

In 2012, a new version of the logo was put into use; a total of 13 changes were made. For example, the symmetry of the eagle was improved, the black outer edge replaced by a white and the writing has been made thinner. The football has been altered in terms of appearance as a shadow effect is added and (if the context allows it) the year of creation as text EST. 1892 under the logo can be found.

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Since 2023 Vitesse's kit has been manufactured by Robey. Previous manufacturers include Adidas (1982–89), Hummel (1989–90), Bukta

(1990–91), Diadora (1991–93), Umbro (1993–97), Lotto (1997–99), Uhlsport (1999–05), Quick (2005–06), Legea (2006–09), Klupp (2009–12), Nike (2012–14), Macron (2014–19), Nike (2019–23) and Robey (2023-present).

The club's shirts are currently sponsored by BetCity. Previous commercial sponsors have been Akai (1982–83), Oad Reizen (1983–85), Spitman (1985–86), Schoenenreus (1987–89), RTL 4 (1990–1991), PTT Telecom (1991–92), BFI (1991–92), Spaarenergie (1992–93), Nuon Energy (1993–01), ATAG Benelux (2000–01), SITA (2002–03), Hubo (2002–03), Bavaria (2002–03), SBS6 (2002–03), Sunweb Group (2003–04), AFAB (2004–2010), Zuka.nl (2010–2011), Simpel (2011–12), Youfone (2013–14), Truphone (2014–17), SWOOP (2017–18), Droomparken (2018–19), Royal Burgers' Zoo (2019–20), The Netherlands Open Air Museum (2019–20), Waterontharder.com (2020–21) eToro (2021–23) and BetCity (2023–present).

Rivalries

Rivalry with NEC

N.E.C. from Nijmegen are Vitesse's archrivals. The two clubs share a long history together and matches between the two clubs are called the Gelderse Derby (Derby of Gelderland). The rivalry between these two clubs goes beyond the football rivalry, it transcends into the city rivalry between the two largest cities of Gelderland: Nijmegen and Arnhem. This city rivalry began when these two cities first received their city rights. The two cities are just 15 kilometres apart, leading to an intense feeling of a cross-town rivalry, heightened by a feeling that local pride is at stake. The meeting between the two teams is still considered to be one of the biggest matches of the season.

The inhabitants of these cities differ extremely in both attitudes and cultures which is clearly reflected on the football pitch. Vitesse's style of play has long been a source of pride for the supporters, and one of irritation for the NEC fans.

Since 1813, Arnhem has been the capital of Gelderland, historically based on finance and trade. Arnhem is perceived as an office city with modern buildings. Nijmegen, on the other hand, is predominantly a workers' city, with middle and high-income groups in the minority. People from Nijmegen see Arnhem as arrogant and lazy.

Rivalries with other clubs

De Graafschap are also a rival of Vitesse, but in terms of tension and rivalry, these matches are not as loaded as the duels with NEC Nijmegen. The rivalry has existed for some time with De Graafschap and stems from various causes, such as the opposition between the large city (Arnhem) and the countryside (Doetinchem).

Further teams who share a rivalry with Vitesse include Twente, Utrecht and Ajax. Past rivalries include local derbies between Vitesse and clubs such as FC Wageningen, Go Ahead Eagles, Quick 1888, Arnhemse Boys and VV Rheden. However, due to the clubs playing in different leagues for an extended period of time and/or clubs being abolished, tensions between these clubs have settled.

Players

Current squad

As of 8 August 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Academy players with first-team appearances

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Youth teams

The club is famous, however, for its Youth Academy, which is rated with the maximum of 4 Stars by the KNVB. Many players in professional football in Europe have played at Vitesse in the past including Roy Makaay, Robin Gosens, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Davy Pröpper, Alexander Büttner, Stijn Schaars, Peter Bosz, Marco van Ginkel, Theo Janssen, Erwin Mulder, Eloy Room, Piet Velthuizen, Martin Laamers, Nicky Hofs and Mitchell van Bergen. All youth teams train and play their matches at Papendal.

The Vitesse Academy comprises age-group teams ranging from U8's up to the flagship U19's. The youngest players are scouted at amateur clubs in the direct surroundings of Arnhem. For the age of twelve and older, the academy extends its scouting area, mainly to the remaining part of the Netherlands and Germany. In Vitesse's youth system, efficient and qualified training is done by full-time coaches and organized by further employees looking after the administration. The goal of the sporting education is to train the youths from basic to development to performance levels, for them to fulfill the sportive and non sportive demands of professional football.

Former players

National team players

The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Vitesse:

Players in bold actively play for Vitesse and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with Vitesse.

National team players by Confederation

Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Vitesse players represented Internationally

Players in international tournaments

The following is a list of Vitesse players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup, Africa Cup of Nations, Copa América, and the Caribbean Cup. To this date no Vitesse players have participated in the AFC Asian Cup, or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Vitesse.

Owners

After Karel Aalbers left, the financial situation for the club became dire. This downfall almost led Vitesse into bankruptcy in 2008, as they were not able to pay back loans given by their sponsor AFAB Geldservice B.V. Eventually the club arranged a deal that saw AFAB's owner, Maasbert Schouten, gain 100% of Vitesse's shares. Schouten immediately expressed his intent to sell the club, which opened the window for Merab Jordania to buy Vitesse. When Jordania, a former Dinamo Tbilisi player and owner, bought the team in 2010, Vitesse became the first Dutch club in history with a foreign owner. In 2013, Russian businessman Alexander Tsjigirinski bought the club from Jordania. In May 2018 a new acquisition took place at Vitesse. Valeriy Oyf, previously a board member of the club, became the new majority shareholder of Vitesse.

A consortium of five new owners (Dane Murphy, Flint Reilly, Timo Braasch, Leon Müller, and Bryan Mornaghi) acquired Vitesse, assuming its €17 million debt from creditor Coley Parry, who had stepped in after the club's previous Russian owner, Valery Oyf, sought a sale following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Chairmen

The first chairman was Frans Dezentjé. Willem Hesselink was chairman of the club from 1917 to 1922 and was appointed honorary chairman in 1962. Although Vitesse's coaches have come from all over Europe, the club's chairmen have been mostly Dutch, with Merab Jordania and Yevgeny Merkel as the only exceptions. The name of Karel Aalbers is inseparably linked to Vitesse. Although a club's success is never the work of a single man, nonetheless, the former chairman's part in the sportive and professional growth of Vitesse may be labelled as truly exceptional. Karel Aalbers handled the chairman's gavel from 1984 to 2000.

Honours

Domestic

Dutch Championship/Eredivisie

Runners-up: 1897–98, 1902–03, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15

Eerste Divisie

Winners: 1976–77, 1988–89

Runners-up: 1959–60, 1973–74

Promoted: 1970–71

Tweede Divisie

Winners: 1965–66

KNVB Cup

Winners: 2016–17

Runners-up: 1911–12, 1926–27, 1989–90, 2020–21

Johan Cruyff Shield

Runners-up: 2017

Regional

Eerste klasse Oost

Winners: 1896–97, 1897–98, 1902–03, 1912–13, 1913–14, 1914–15, 1952–53

Promoted: 1954–55

Tweede klasse Oost

Winners: 1922–23, 1940–41, 1943–44, 1945–46, 1949–50

Gelderland Competition

Winners: 1894–95, 1895–96

Club Awards

VVCS: Dutch Team of the Year

Winners: 1989–90

Personnel honours

European Golden Boot

The following players have won the European Golden Boot whilst playing for Vitesse:

Nikos Machlas (34 goals) – 1998

Dutch Footballer of the Year (Golden Boots)

The following players have won the Dutch Footballer of the Year whilst playing for Vitesse:

Edward Sturing – 1990 (Eredivisie)

Wilfried Bony – 2013 (Eredivisie)

Johan Cruyff Trophy

The following players have won the Johan Cruyff Trophy whilst playing for Vitesse:

Marco van Ginkel – 2013

Eredivisie Top Scorer

Nikos Machlas (34 goals) – 1998

Wilfried Bony (31 goals) – 2013

Eerste Divisie Top Scorer

Herman Veenendaal (23 goals) – 1974

Remco Boere (27 goals) – 1983

Rinus Michels Award (Manager of the year)

Fred Rutten (Runner-up) – 2012/13

Peter Bosz (Runner-up) – 2013/14, 2014/15

Henk Fraser (Runner-up) – 2016/17

Thomas Letsch (Runner-up) – 2020/21

UEFA's #EqualGame Award

Guram Kashia – 2018

Georgian Footballer of the Year

Guram Kashia – 2012, 2013

Vitesse in Europe

Group = group game

Q = qualifying round

KPO = knockout round play-offs

PO = play-off round

1R = first round

2R = second round

3R = third round

1/8 = 1/8 final

UEFA ranking

As of 7 June 2025

Dutch Cup finals

The winners of the cup compete against the winners of the Eredivisie for the Johan Cruyff Shield.

Club records

Highest transfer fee paid: Bob Peeters from Roda JC for €6.4 million, 2000

Record League win: 0–17 v Victoria, Gelderse Competitie NVB, 11 November 1894

Record Eredivisie win: 7–0 v Sparta Rotterdam, 14 April 2018

Record Eerste Divisie win: 7–0 v FC Wageningen, 30 August 1970

Record European win: 0–4 v Dundee United, UEFA Cup Second Round, 7 November 1990

Record home win: 14–0 v Victoria, Gelderse Competitie NVB, 20 January 1895

Record away win: 0–17 v Victoria, Gelderse Competitie NVB, 11 November 1894

Record home Eredivisie win: 7–0 v Sparta Rotterdam, 14 April 2018

Record away Eredivisie win: 1–7 v Fortuna Sittard, 27 September 1997

Record defeat: 12–1 v Ajax, Eredivisie, 19 May 1972

Record tournament defeat: 0–7 v PSV, KNVB Beker, Fourth Round, 4 May 1969

Highest ranking: 3rd in Eredivisie, 1997–98

Longest unbeaten run (League): 22, from 8 January 1967 until 17 September 1967 in Eerste Divisie

Most clean sheets in one season: 18, Eerste Divisie, 1988–89

Most League goals all-time by player : 155 – Jan Dommering

Domestic results

Below is a table with Vitesse's domestic results since the introduction of the Eredivisie in 1956.

Statistics

Player of the Season

Vitesse's Player of the Season award is voted for by the club's supporters. It was first introduced in the 1989–90 season.

Other teams

Vitesse II

Vitesse's reserve team (Under-21) currently plays in the Beloften Eredivisie. It plays its home matches at Papendal and it is coached by Joseph Oosting. The team is composed mostly of professional footballers, who are often recent graduates from the highest youth level (Vitesse U19) serving their first professional contract as a reserve, or players who are otherwise unable to play in the first team.

The team's honours:

Derde Divisie

Champions: 2018

Beloften Eredivisie

Champions: 1993, 2015

KNVB Reserve Cup

Winners: 1998, 2002, 2011

KNVB District (South)

Champions: 1992, 1993

KNVB District Cup (East)

Winners: 1990

Amateur team

In 1984, it was decided to divide the professional and amateur sections of the club. The professional section was renamed SBV (Stichting Betaald Voetbal – "Professional Football Foundation") Vitesse whilst the amateur section became "(AVC) Vitesse 1892", who played their home matches at the Sportcomplex Valkenhuizen. In total, the club has won five trophies; one Derde Klasse title, one Vierde Klasse title, one Zesde Klasse title and two Arnhem Cups. In 2009, Vitesse 1892 was declared bankrupt. The amateur section has produced a number of professional players including Andy van der Meijde, Nicky Hofs, Léon Hese, Erwin van de Looi and Theo Janssen.

Vitesse Legends

Vitesse Legends are a beneficiary team that was initiated by Ben Snelders, Leo de Kleermaeker and Dik Herberts in the 1990s, competing in at least one match a year, usually in the name of charity and/or to bid farewell to retiring former Vitesse players. The team is made up of various members of the Club van 100 of Vitesse who will come out of retirement for this match to face the current Vitesse squad. Past participants have included Theo Janssen, Marc van Hintum, Edward Sturing, Ruud Knol, Remco van der Schaaf, Nicky Hofs, Erwin van de Looi, Glenn Helder, Philip Cocu, John van den Brom, Theo Bos, Martin Laamers, Michael Dingsdag, Roberto Straal, Frans Thijssen, Dejan Čurović, Jhon van Beukering and Huub Loeffen.

National team players

A number of Vitesse players have represented the Netherlands national team, the first official international being Willem Hesselink. He was one of the founders of Vitesse in 1892 at age 14. In 1905 he started in the first ever home match of the Netherlands national football team, a 4–0 victory against Belgium. Some historians attribute one of the goals scored to him. Just Göbel played 22 matches for the Dutch team, being best remembered for his numerous saves during the 2–1 win over England's amateurs and his bronze medal in the football tournament of the 1912 Summer Olympics. The record number of Vitesse players for the Netherlands was three, which occurred on two occasions in 1989. The following players were called up to represent the Netherlands national team in international football and received caps during their tenure with Vitesse: